Banter and a Movie
by AlbatrossQueen
Summary: Starts with Artemis / Wally bantering, but ends as Artemis / Robin  Note: Robin's entrance is about a quarter in . It's a very slow build-up, and very pointless and fluffy. Rating is to be on the  rather  safe side. One-Shot.


Note: I haven't written fanfiction of any sort in a very, very long time. I apologize if the quality is less than your expectations or the characters are OoC.

_In regards to age's: _I'm assuming Robin(Dick) has a funny birthday, and is the kind of 13 that is nearly 14 since he is a freshmen in high school. If this is not correct, let me know.

Pairings: Starts with Artemis / Wally bantering, but ends as Artemis / Robin.

It's a very slow build-up, and very pointless and fluffy.

Time Setting: After "Alpha Male"

/

M'gann was just maneuvering her ship down in Mount Justice as the team returned from India. Kaldur's position as team leader was once again secure, and everyone was acting as per normal.

"Are we almost there yet? I could eat a whole cow! I know so, because I've done it." Kid Flash said.

"Ugh! Could you be anymore unfocused? We're already here duffas, you'd known that if you could pay attention to anything other than your stomach." Artemis replied.

"Hey now! It's my superpower weakness, I've got to keep my body stocked on full so I can stay the fastest kid alive." Kid Flash gave a thumbs up at this as he leaned further back in his chair, as he undid his seat-belt.

"More like, so you have have enough energy to power both of your heads." Artemis mumbled.

Just then Wally moved behind her chair, resting his hand behind Artemis' head while eating a candy bar. "Sorry, didn't catch that Miss Prissy Face."

"Oh nothing." Artemis said standing as the others, including Wolf the newest addition of the team shook their heads at yet another argument between the pair, left the now parked ship. "Just saying that if food ever became a human girl, sorry what am I saying, if food became any sort of anthropomorphic object you'd be all over that in more ways than one."

"And what ways are those?" Wally asked, raising his eyebrows.

Artemis slanted her eyes at him, "All of them. You're a 15 year old male, I'm sure you'll figure out my meaning, science-boy." After making her point, Artemis quickly departed the ship, leaving a confused Wally still planted to the floor, scratching his head.

Making her way into the kitchen, Artemis smiled. Her eyes quickly flashed to the ventilation hood over the stove before darting away.

"What are you smiling at?" M'gann asked, suddenly appearing on Artemis' right with a plate of brownies.

"Nothing much," Artemis said, now facing M'gann, "just I'm glade that everyone made it out ok. I mean I nearly drowned for the second day in a row, but at least you and Kaldur weren't suck in a cage of fire. It's good for all of us to be working together as a real team again." Artemis reach out and gave M'gann a half-hug, careful not to knock the plate of brownies, but being sure to pick up one to munch on before moving over to the others gathered in the kitchen.

Wally was currently shuffling through all the cabinets, Kaldur had his head in the icebox, and Superboy appeared to have somehow had gotten himself covered in baking supplies.

Artemis popped the last bit of M'gann's brownie into her mouth and crossed her arms."Did Mr. Flashy-Food Pants rally eat everything in the place? I'd like to say that I am surprised, but I am really, how shall I say it? Oh right –"

"Totally whelmed." Artemis turned her head to see the wonderful wonder boy pop out from the other side of the sofa, as he walked over to the kitchen with a ridiculous grin plastered on his face.

"What? Can't say I don't agree with her. Wally can't keep his hands off of any type of food. It's a miracle there are even any of M'gann's brownies left." He picked one of the aforementioned treats off of M'gann's plate. "Also, what's with the new look Superboy? Making white the new black, eh? We could make you another solar suit again if you miss it. A lot cleaner than using, what is that even, some kind of flour?"

Kaldur closed the icebox door and faced the group, "Now actually, that's from Wally. He ended up throwing some of the food items out of the cabinets when he started his search, it appeared that due to his 'whelmed' attitude that he has inadvertently made Superboy into some kind of cake component."

"No way man!" Wally said, closing the cabinet door he was behind, "Definitively not into that cannibalism stuff, and if I was I'd never try to eat one of my friends! Gross dude, gross." Wally ran a ran through his hair, "Also, Arrow-Powrrow over there might have just been a teensy bit right. We do seem to be mostly out of food supplies."

"Well you can worry about that later little me," The Flash – Bart Allen – said, as he walked into the room and put a hand on Wally's shoulder "it's a Thursday night and you have school tomorrow. Your mother has informed me that you have some kind of quiz to study for. That is your highest priority right now. You can come back tomorrow to do your hero duties with your friends. But even hero duty wouldn't be any good if you blow your chance to get good grades. You're still going to have to maintain a good life for your secret identity when you grow up you know."

"But – " Wally started to protest.

"No 'buts' Wally. You need to learn how to manage a double life, and school work is part of that."

"Don't worry Wally," M'gann said, "I can just go to the store with Conner and get more supplies, it's not like we don't have to get food for ourselves anyway since we live here."

"Fine, fine I'm going. See you all later then." Wally said. He glared at Artemis as he left, she just rolled her eyes.

Superboy walked over to M'gann and said, "I'll just change my shirt then, and we'll go to the store then?"

"Yes, that sounds fine. I'll go wait by the tubes." M'gann turned to her right, smiled at Robin and then gave him what was left of the brownies. "You guys feel free to eat the rest of them, I can make a fresh batch when we get back."

"Sure thing M'gann." Robin answered. Turning to Kaldur he said, "And what about you Kaldur? What are you up to tonight?"

"Well," the Atlantian boy said while scratching his head, "it has been a very trying past few days. I find my energy is a bit drained. I think I will retire to mediate and perhaps get in some extra sleep. Did you have other plans, perhaps?"

"What do I look like the kind of person who always has a plan plotted out for everything?"

Kaldur just raised his an eyebrow at Robin as Artemis took the brownie plate from Robin and went to put it away in the refrigerator.

"No really man, it's cool. Your aester is low and you got to recharge. That's a great plan, a perfect plan. Gotta be able to keep your cool as team leader after all."

"Yes, I agree." Kaldur squinted his eyes at Robin, finding something odd about him in that moment, "but if you require my assistance with anything be sure to call me. I will certainly respond."

"I hear you brother. Now, go shake off that heat exhaustion from the other day with some much deserved sleep."

Kaldur when to leave the room, bur turned back before disappearing completely. "Artemis," he asked, "do you require my assistance with anything before I take my leave?"

She shrugged, "Can't think of anything. Besides, if we get attacked again like the other day, at least you're in the mountain. You'll hear an attack for sure. And besides, I think the two of us have more than proved that we can handle ourselves in a fight."

"This is true. Well then, goodnight."

"Goodnight" the two remaining teens said in unison.

Artemis turned towards Robin, "So wonder boy, what exciting plans have you got for tonight?"

"Nothing much, thinking of watching a movie if you wanted to join."

"well that would depend on the movie, I'm not in the mood for something action-y. Had enough of that in my own life the past two days."

"And what an excitingly interesting two days it has been."

"Yeah, so what are we watching? How cliché is it going to be, batcave boy? More stories with hidden rooms behind bookshelves? A beast that turns into a magic prince?"

"Oh, Beast Boy is no prince."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, just a friend of Batman's," Robin said waving Artemis' comment off, "I was thinking something more cliché then all of that. A good detective story, right up the bat-family ally. Ever heard of a man named Sherlock Holmes?"

Artemis paused. She loved Sherlock Holmes, she had taken up the reading of one of Doyle's books, _His Last Bow_, during her free time at school. Not that Bette wasn't a great student liaison, just that the people that went to school there were so different than her old high school – plus there was the random freshmen who always seemed to appear out of nowhere – and she was having trouble making new friends. So she occupied her time with books instead.

"Oh, yeah, he's the detective guy, right? Plays the violin?"

Robin gave a knowing smile, "Yup that's him alright. There was a movie about him that came out a few years ago. I've got a copy if you'd care to join me in watching it." His head bobbled a tiny bit as he looked her over. "That is, after we get out of these costumes and into civvies."

"You going to wear those sunglasses to watch the movie because I'm here, I'm guessing?"

"You know it. Not that I don't trust you, that's just the Batman's orders."

"Ok, meet back here in five." Artemis said. Robin nodded.

Five minutes later -

Artemis was now dressed much more comfortably in a pair of dark jeans, a white tank top, and a cropped jacket as she walked into the living room to find Robin already there wearing a black jacket over a yellow hoodie, with the movie already set up to the main menu screen.

Artemis plopped down on the sofa next to Robin and just shook her head at his silly sunglasses.

"Really now, how are you suppose to be able to see the screen correctly while wearing those things?"

"Have you ever seen this movie before?"

"No, not really."

"Well, you'll find out why during it then. A lot of fire during that one scene, it's pretty traught."

"I thought this was suppose to be a detective story, _not_ a superhero one?"

"Oh it is, it is. What can I say, I'm a teenage male, I like explosions with my movie plots."

"Whatever wonder boy, just play the movie."

Robin gave a small, comic salute as he turned the movie on, saying "As you wish my lady."

During the warehouse explosion part of the movie -

Watson and co were running from the burning warehouse fire on screen, and Artemis knew it wasn't real, she _knew_, but she still reacted as it it was. She let out a muffled screech as she jerked her body to the right, throwing both her and Robin off of the sofa. It was too much like when the Reds attacked them. There was too much fire. Artemis dug her hands into Robin's back, needing to know that he was still there and that he was with her and alive. Robin pulled her in closer, passing one hand over her hair as he tried repeated "Shush, it's ok, it's ok. We're ok. Everything is ok."

Artemis pushed herself off of the smaller boy, and curled into a ball on the ground in front of the sofa. Robin sat up next to her as they both ignored the movie.

"Hey, hey. Artemis, please look at me." She ignored him. Robin went to run a hand through his hair, but moved it to tilt Artemis' face towards him instead. She let her head be moved, but averted her eyes.

"It's stupid, I know it's stupid." She said. "There you were all child solider and experience when the Reds were attacking us two days ago, and here I am now watching a stupid movie and reacting like it was real. It's so stupid. I'm sorry." She went to move in order to clear her eyes of tears, but found that Robin was already doing that for her. "Don't pity me." She said.

"Never said I did." Robin said, turning his body to face her's more directly as he lifted her face again in order to see into her eyes, "Look everybody cracks at some point. Let's face it, what we're doing isn't exactly what every other teen on the planet is going through. It's tricky stuff, even for metahumans – or metamartians in M'gann's – case. Sure I've got more practice then the others here, but only by a few years and I still have a bad habit of punching walls when something is stressing me out. It's ok to be chalant. That whole mission we were just on, every one of us was totally chalant, and making that switch from hero to civilians never really happens. We're always a little bit hero and we have to live with the things we face every single day." Robin picked up one of Artemis' hands at this point, gave an encouraging squeeze, and then loosely held it as he continued to talk. "I mean, you watched all of your friends be tormented or nearly killed less than 48 hours ago, and today was a mess with all that mole drama. It's better for the whole team if you deal with your emotions on your downtime. Means you can stay as traught as you did the other day. And I never got to thank you for that you know, saving the whole team."

"But is it really something that deserves thanks? We save each other so we can stay a team, that's how it works. You were trying to do the same thing before you – ."

"Blacked-out and nearly drowned? Yeah, really helpful there opening the door to death for everyone. Such a gentlemen I am. I mean look at what you did, you can up with a plan all by yourself and you saved four metahuman teens and me from two crazy weather robots that together as a group the others couldn't take down. That's amazing. You're amazing."

"If you're trying to butter me up so that I buy you something extra nice for your birthday in a few weeks, it's not going to work wonder boy."

Robin squeezed Artemis' hand again, and said, "It seems my birthday came early this year. I've got a pretty girl that will never be intimated by my hero-schtick, whose even part of the same team as me, who stays wicked traught on missions to save my incompetent self and sticks as close as Sphere does to Superboy."

Artemis laughed at the last bit of Robin's statement and smiled. Robin pulled on her hand, causing Artemis to fall into a kiss with him. After the initial shook of it, Artemis relaxed into the kiss, but then pulled away to engulf Robin in a tight hug. Smiling all the while, Artemis thought that while Superboy might be her white rabbit, but this boy with no name called Robin, he was her Hatter. And he was certainly doing a wonderful job of driving her mad.

/

Thanks for reading, please feel free to review.

Note: by Hatter I mean _Alice in Wonderland_, not like, the villain Hatter.


End file.
